


A Life of Shelter

by Kiti_the_Warrior_Poet



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Children's Shelter, Foster Care, Ice Cream, Lydia Martin & Stiles Stilinski Friendship, Minor Character Death, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Pre-Slash, Scott McCall & Stiles Stilinski Friendship, Sheriff Stilinski's Name is John, Stiles goes to counseling
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-01-08
Updated: 2017-01-30
Packaged: 2018-09-15 14:08:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 8,849
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9238367
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kiti_the_Warrior_Poet/pseuds/Kiti_the_Warrior_Poet
Summary: A ten year plan.  Stiles has one, or rather he had one.  But, oh well, if his mother taught him one thing in life it's that when life throws you a curve ball, you pick up the closest bat and swing with everything you've got.  And that is exactly what Stiles plans to do.(Or, Stiles' life seems to be falling apart around him when his mother dies in the middle of his second year of college, but maybe it's just falling into place.)





	1. Back to the Beginning (To Begin Again)

**Author's Note:**

> This is the first time I've ever written fic and I welcome constructive criticism. I more or less have an outline for the fic in my head. I will be adding tags as I go (and as I figure out the writing side of the archive). I'm not sure how I'll be doing updates, I just know that I wanted to get this first chapter out there so that I hopefully have at least one person holding me accountable to actually keep working on it.
> 
> This will eventually be Sterek, so if that doesn't appeal to you then sorry, but you probably won't like my fic.
> 
> I hope you enjoy this first taste of A Life of Shelter!
> 
> I do not own, nor do I claim to own, Teen Wolf or any of its characters. This work is purely fictional and solely for fun, not profit.

~*beep, Beep, BEEP, **BEEP!!!!** *~

“Ugh, it’s supposed to be Saturday,” Stiles thinks, just before he shoots up in his loft bed so fast that he possibly leaves a dent behind. “Shit, SHIT, SHIT!!! I’m late! I can’t believe I almost slept through my counseling session… again! If I don’t get these sessions in before break I’ll fail my class.” Stiles half scrambles, half falls out of bed, into some cleanish clothes, and out the door as quickly as humanly possible.

Fifteen minutes later Stiles arrives just in time for his session at the student counseling center on the other side of campus from his dorm. The student counselor that he has been assigned looks less than impressed with him and speaks with a falsely sweet voice “My name in Marin Morrell. I’m in my final year of graduate school here at Beacon University. I understand that you are here today to fulfill the requirements for your Introduction to Family Science course? Um, Melchior?”

“Please, just call me Stiles.”

“All right then Stiles, why don’t you start by telling me a little about yourself.”

“‘Kay, well, I’m an only child. Well, unless you count Scott, which you might as well. I mean we’ve known each other since we were four and we’re roommates now and we spend all of our breaks together and-"

“Stiles,” Marin interrupts, “why don’t you tell me about how you met Scott.”

“Okay!” Stiles settles into the couch that he is sitting on as he contemplates were to start his tale.

* * *

_After what had felt like **hours** in the car they had finally stopped and were about to get out. Young Stiles looked around in confusion before he spoke in a quite voice, “Mommy… I thought you said you were gonna take me to meet Mimmi and Poppy.”_

_Claudia paused before getting out of the driver’s seat of her “new to her” baby blue Jeep and looked back over her shoulder at her son. “You are going to meet Mimmi and Poppy Sweetie, and we’re going to give them those nice flowers that you helped Mommy pick out too.”_

_“Okay Mommy.”_

_After Claudia finished climbing out of the Jeep she went around to the other side and climbed back in to help her son out of his carseat and to grab the flowers that they had brought for her parents’ graves. “Stiles dear, hold on to Mommy’s coat pocket so that you don’t get lost okay?”_

_“Okay Mommy,” Stiles replied as he reached up and grabbed hold of the nearest pocket._

_As Stiles and his mommy walked along Stiles decided to make a game of counting the grave stones as they passed them. He noticed that some of the graves had pretty flowers next to them while others looked lonely and forgotten, but none of them looked quite like the two graves that Claudia came to a stop in front of._

_When Stiles realizes that they have stopped walking he looks in front of himself to see a beautiful black marble headstone. The first thing he notices about the headstone are the two faces that look familiar even though he has never seen them before. One face is a handsome man that looks to be a few years younger than his Daddy. This face has eyes that look just like his Mommy’s and it must belong to Poppy. Stiles would think that the second face is an old picture of his Mommy but the eyes aren’t quite right and the lady in the picture doesn’t have Mommy’s freckles. So, that must mean that the second face is Mimmi. Once Stiles has a chance to take the faces in his eyes start to wander and he discovers that the two faces appear to be connected by a bridge composed of the different phases of the moon. There are also beautiful purple and yellow flowers carved into intricate patterns all over the headstone._

_Drawn forward by the beauty before him Stiles doesn’t notice the actual flowers in front of him until Mommy grabs his hand and reminds him to watch where he puts his feet. When Stiles looks down at his feet he notices that the pattern of pretty purple and yellow flowers flows off of the headstone and onto the ground in front of him._

_“Mommy, why did we bring Mimmi and Poppy flowers if they already have some?”_

_When Mommy doesn’t answer Stiles looks up to see that she looks on the brink of tears._

_“Mommy? Did I do something wrong? I’m sorry! Mimmi and Poppy will love our flowers! Even if there isn’t much room for them. More flowers means more pretty means more happy, right Mommy?”_

_At that Claudia looks down at her son, “Oh Stiles, you didn’t do anything wrong sweetheart! Mommy just hasn’t been here in a long, long time, and I didn’t think these flowers would still be alive… You’re right though! More flowers definitely means more pretty, which absolutely means more happy. Here why don’t you find a good spot for these flowers while I find a good spot for these ones. Just be careful not to touch or step on the purple flowers, okay?”_

_Stiles nods his head as he gingerly takes the proffered flowers. After carefully selecting the perfect location for the new flowers Stiles returns to his mother’s side being sure not to get too close to any of the purple flowers._

_“Mom, Dad,” Claudia begins, “this is my son, Melchior Ludovic Stilinski named after his grandfather and for his future, but we call him Stiles because he is so very much like his father. Stiles, this is your Mimmi Eda and your Poppy Melchior and they both love you very, very much.”_

_Stiles grabs Mommy’s hand with his left hand and lifts his right hand in a quick wave as he hides his face in Mommy’s side. “Hi Mimmi. Hi Poppy. Your stone and flowers are very pretty; I’m sorry I almost step-ted on your flowers… OH! And I love you too.”_

* * *

“Stiles,” Marin interrupts, “you’re supposed to be telling me about how you met Scott, your roommate.”

“Roommate, best friend, brother: Scott is a man of many titles. Anyways, I _am_ telling you the story of how I met Scott. I know you probably read all about my ADHD and so you probably think I’m just off on some tangent about some random memory that popped in my head while I was trying to figure out where to start my story about meeting Scott, but I am not on a random tangent. I am, _in fact_ , just setting the scene for when I met Scotty so that you can fully grasp the emotional and life changing impact of our first meeting!”

After a full 30 seconds of Marin just staring at him like a particularly interesting science experiment Stiles asks, “So, can I get back to my story now?”

Marin mutely inclines her head to him and Stiles continues where he left off.

* * *

_Claudia says her goodbyes to her parents, kisses her hand before placing it on the top center of the headstone, and then turns with Stiles to begin their trek back to the Jeep. The walk to the Jeep is quick and silent, and as Claudia helps Stiles buckle back into his carseat she notices that her ray of sunshine isn’t shining quite as bright as he usually does._

_“You know Stiles, you did a wonderful job finding a spot for those flowers without touching any of the purple flowers. In fact, you did such a good job that Mimmi and Poppy told me that they think that you deserve a special treat!”_

_Stiles head snaps up locking eyes with Claudia. “A **Special Treat**?!”_

_“Yes, a Special Treat, your favorite in fact.”_

_“But, Mommy, most places don’t have my favorite, what if we can’t find it?”_

_“Do you want to know a secret Stiles?”_

_“Uh-huh,” Stiles says as he eagerly nods his head._

_“Anna’s Soda Shop is famous for their pistachio ice cream, and that is where we are headed right now!”_

_“ **YAY!!!!** ”_

_Chuckling to herself Claudia rounds the Jeep to get in her seat and heads towards Anna’s Soda Shop._

_A few minutes later the bell overhead chimes as Claudia and Stiles walk hand-in-hand into Anna’s Soda Shop. A cheerful chorus of “Welcome to Anna’s!” greeted the new patrons as they took their place in the line. Stiles could barely contain his excitement bouncing on his toes as he waited for his turn to order. Finally there was only one other little boy left in front of him and then Stiles was going to order the biggest pistachio ice cream Mommy would let him get, and it sounded like the boy in front of him had the same idea._

_The teen with long black hair and bright green eyes behind the counter asked the little boy in front of Stiles what he wanted. A tiny voice hesitantly piped up “two scoops of Pistachio Dream in a sugar cone with a cup please” as the young boy held up two fingers and flashed the most potent puppy dog eyes ever known to mankind._

_“You’ve got it, cutie!” the teen replies trying to hide a smirk as she gets to work. Once the order is complete she hands it over with a flourish before turning to Stiles. “Well! Today must just be bring your super adorable cutest kid ever to Anna’s day! And what can I get for you cutie pie?”_

_Stiles positively beams at her before half shouting “A waffle cone with -“ a furtive glance at Claudia to see a firm two fingers held up “- TWO scoops of PISTACHIO DREAM!!! PLEASE!”_

_“Oh.” The previously cheery teen’s face falls. “I’m afraid I just gave away the last of Pistachio Dream… **but** our Peanut Butter Chocolate Hurricane is almost as popular as Pistachio Dream and I have a fresh batch that just came out” she ends with an optimistic look of hope on her face._

_Stiles looks crushed as he sniffles out, “will there be a new batch of Pistachio Dream soon?”_

_Claudia catches the teen cursing under her breath as she shakes her head, “I’m afraid only Anna knows the recipe for Pistachio Dream and she just went into labor at the hospital. We won’t have any more Pistachio Dream for at least a few weeks, sorry kiddo.” Claudia then notices the teen tense-up and then as if on cue Stiles begins to wail beside her._

_“B-B-BUT MOMMYYYYYYY! YOU SAID THEY **ALWAYS** HAVE PISTACHIO ICE CREAM!”_

_Claudia is franticly trying to calm Stiles and so she does not notice the small boy approaching her and her son._

_“THAT’S THE **WHOLE** RE-“ Stiles abruptly cuts off mid wail and looks over to the hand that is tugging on his sleeve. His eyes track from the hand to the arm that it is connected to all the way up to the distraught face of the little boy that it is connected to. Stiles instantly recognizes the boy as the one who took the last of the Pistachio Dream, but before he can express his rage to his new target that small shy voice pipes up, “I’m sorry… I didn’t know there was only a little Pistachio Dream left.” Stiles doubts that and is about to say as much when the boy puts on his puppy eyes and continues “I know! I have **two** scoops so that means we can share! I can eat one scoop and you can eat the other one!”_

_In that instant Stiles knew he had made a friend for life, **best** friend even. This boy was going to share his Pistachio Dream with Stiles! But, there was one problem, “I can’t.”_

_The boy’s eager puppy expression dimmed, “How come?”_

_“I don’t even know your name and Mommy says I should never take sweets from a stranger” Stiles laments._

_“OH!” The eager puppy expression is back as the boy bounces on his toes “My name is Scott! Now you can share my ice cream! Come on, it’s gonna melt soon!”_  
_The next thing Stiles knows Scott has grabbed his hand and is dragging him off towards his table. As he runs off to eat Pistachio Dream ice cream with his new best friend for life Stiles hears his mother chuckle behind him before she calls out “Melissa! I always knew that when we had kids of our own they would end-up being best friends.”_

_Scott’s mommy laughed to herself “I guess you were right as usual Claudia.”_

* * *

“And that is how I met my best friend. We still get a double scoop of Pistachio Dream to split every time we go to Anna’s Soda Shop to this day.”

“I see,” Marin replies. “And you felt the part of the story about visiting your grandparent’s graves was integral to my grasping your emotional connection to Scott, why exactly?”

“Dude, seriously?!? I’ve only been a Family and Human Services major for like two and a half weeks, but even I know that in order to fully understand a child’s actions you have to examine their emotional state among several other factors. I was just trying to help you understand where tiny me was at emotionally before I jumped into the Anna’s Soda Shop story. If I had just started with arriving at Anna’s you would have thought that I was some spoiled brat that just threw a fit whenever I didn’t get my way. Starting with visiting the graves demonstrated that I was usually very polite and that I listened very well. It also showed you that I had had an emotionally taxing day and that I had been promised a reward for having done well with that. I was highly emotional when that reward was not delivered and Scott gave up part of his own treat to help me calm down. He became an emotional linchpin of sorts for me that day.” Stiles’ breath is slightly labored by the end of his rant.

“Very good Stiles,” Marin soothes. “You will do well in your new program. I’m afraid that is all the time we have for today. We will meet again at the same time and place next week, if that works for you?” Stiles nods the affirmative. “Good.” Marin continues, “For as long as our sessions continue I will be giving you a weekly assignment to work towards a goal that we will establish together. Since we ran out of time this week I want you to spend the next week thinking about why you decided to change your major.” Sensing that Stiles is about to interrupt Marin holds up a finger and looks up from where she has been writing in her notebook. “Next week I want you to bring in some sort of physical representation of what you have found to be the springboard for this sudden and drastic change in your life.” After a moment of silence Marin prods, “do you understand what I want you to do Stiles?” Stiles slowly nods his head. “Good. I will see you next week Stiles,” Marin dismisses.

Stiles numbly gets up from his seat and absently waves to Marin as he walks to the door. “Man,” Stiles thinks, “I am so glad that today is an S&S do Anna’s day.” Stiles checks his phone for the time and sees a text from Scott ~Anna’s Day! Dude, let me know when you get done with your session and I’ll head that way.~ Stiles lets out a gusty sigh before texting back ~Done. Scotty, bro, I’m not sure our usual will do me today. After that session I think I need a whole pint of Pistachio Dream to myself.~ After making sure the text went through Stiles pockets his phone and heads out to Roscoe. As he looks up at his baby blue Jeep Stiles finds himself fighting a watery smile.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading! If you have tips (or would like to beta for me!) or if you just want to chat you can find me on tumblr http://kiti-the-warrior-poet.tumblr.com/
> 
> Please let me know if you have enjoyed this and want to read more of A Life of Shelter.
> 
> ~Also, there is a chance that this work will be added to a series called A Life of Shelter, if that happens the title of this work will likely be changed to Back to the Beginning (To Begin Again).~


	2. A Day at Anna's

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah! Guys, I'm so sorry it took so long to update. There was supposed to be an ice storm here over the weekend and my family went insane. I'm hoping to start up a schedule of posting a chapter every 2 or 3 weeks. So far I've been posting as I finish the new chapters, but I may try to get a chapter or two ahead. Sorry for any spelling or grammatical errors. Enjoy!

“Dude! Are you crying? Do you need me to drive?”

Stiles flails at the booming voice behind him, so different from the tiny shy one it replaced years ago, and turns to see Scott standing right behind him. “Scotty,” Stiles wheezes, “how the hell do you do that? And how the hell did you get here so fast? I just texted you like less than two minutes ago, and our dorm is on the other side of campus.”

“Oh, well, uh.” Scott winces, “I might of headed this way after you left this morning so that I could be here quicker if you had a panic attack after your session or something like that.” Scott gives Stiles his best, please don’t kill me look, and Stiles just shakes his head before crushing him in a hug.

“Dude you are so much more than just my emotional linchpin, you’re like my _life_ linchpin,” Stiles mutters into Scott’s shoulder getting a “Huh?” in response. Stiles shakes his head and waves Scott off, “Never mind. It’s Anna’s time!” Stiles tosses his keys up in the air and Scott grabs them with a shout of “I still think I should drive.” Stiles just shoves Scott and heads to the passenger seat of his own Jeep. The drive to Anna’s is filled with a contemplative silence that Stiles barely notices as he thinks of something he can bring to his next session with Marin.

They arrive at Anna’s much sooner than Stiles thinks should be possible, but he just shrugs it off and gets out. As they meet up in front of the Jeep Scott hands Stiles his keys back. “Hey,” Scott elbows Stiles, “isn’t _Lydia_ supposed to be working today?”

Stiles stops in his tracks, and just as he’s about to speak Scott scrunches up his nose and turns to him. “Dude,” Scott quirks a brow “why are you more sad now? I said that to cheer you up. I thought Lydia was _the one_.” Scott ends with his hands in the air in defeat when he sees that his joke has fallen flat.

Stiles shakes his head and tries to back up. “Scott, man, you don’t get it. I haven’t talked to Lydia since last semester’s finals.”

Scott gives Stiles a sharp look. “But that was before your mom…” Scott trails off. Stiles swallows hard and nods. “Shit,” Scott mutters under his breath, “you haven’t told her about your mom. You didn’t explain why you changed your major.”

“You mean I didn’t explain why I abandoned her? Why I left her without a lab partner for Organic Chemistry II, Physics II, Calc IV? Any of it? No. I haven’t explained anything to her. I tried to call her when it happened, but it went to voicemail. Three times it went to voicemail, and I couldn’t bring myself to leave a message.” Now rather than looking remorseful Stiles is starting to look a bit pissed. “Lydia knew that mom was sick. She hasn’t made any attempts at contacting me yet either, so, I’m moving on.”

Scott’s nostrils flair and his eyes soften, “you’re afraid that you hurt her and you don’t know how to fix it. Well, you don’t know how to fix it without any blood-loss on your part anyway.” Scott ends with a wry smile.

“Right,” Stiles gives a self-depreciating smile in return.

“Right!” Scott mimics with a sharp nod and an offer of his arm, “I’ll just have to protect you from Lydia then. After all, we can’t let anything ruin Anna’s Day, not even a Banshee Bent on Vengeance.”

Stiles shakes his head as he takes the proffered arm, “I don’t know why you always insist on referring to Lydia as a Banshee… although it is oddly fitting.” Scott just awkwardly chuckles and shrugs his shoulders as he escorts Stiles to the door.

As the bell overhead chimes and Stiles takes that step over the threshold he makes the bold decision to put on a brave face and act like nothing at all has changed between he and Lydia in the last two and a half months. A cheery “Welcome to Anna’s” is nearly choked off with a clearly strained, “Stiles!?” in a voice that Stiles would recognize instantly at any time, in any place, and in any state of consciousness.

Clearing his throat Stiles replies with a bright, “Lyds! Light of my life, partner in crime, goddess of my heart, how are you this fine day?”

Lydia narrows her eyes at Stiles before surreptitiously glancing at Scott. Getting a firm head shake in return Lydia returns her gaze to Stiles and simply replies “I’ve decided to add a Psychology major on top of my Analytical Chemistry major. Even with all of my extra credits that I came in with I’ll be adding a semester of undergrad, but it’ll be worth it. Now, I get paid to serve ice cream, not to talk. So, how much Pistachio Dream will you be needing today gentlemen?”

Stiles is too busy trying to process that exchange so Scott pipes up with “Um, we’ll take a sugar cone with four scoops of Pistachio Dream and a cup as well as a waffle cone with four scoops of Pistachio Dream with a cup.” When Lydia gives him a pointed look Scott just shrugs and supplies “It’s been a while since we’ve been here.”

Lydia just shakes her head and starts scooping ice cream. Stiles rejoins the conversation when he’s handed his waffle cone and after counting the scoops between his ice cream and Scott’s stops Lydia from ringing them up with a “we need another double scoop cup of Pistachio Dream.” At Lydia’s look he tacks on a desperate “ _please_.” Lydia sighs, gives him a There _Will_ Be Words look, and serves up the last scoop of Pistachio Dream before ringing them up.

After paying Scott and Stiles make their way to their usual table in the back corner, Stiles immediately starting in on his scoop from the double before sliding it over to Scott. After a few minutes of silence filled only with the sounds of eating and the sweet sweet taste of Pistachio Dream Scott clears his throat. “So, you wanna talk about it?”

Stiles swallows the bite in his mouth and licks his lips before answering. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” He immediately takes another huge bite of Pistachio Dream before coughing and spluttering out “ _brain freeze_.”

Scott shakes his head and pats Stiles on the back with one hand while offering him a cup of water with the other. As Stiles nods his head and gratefully takes the water Scott holds up his fingers ticking off, “One. What are you going to say to Lydia when she comes over here on her break, because you _know_ she is going to. Two. You haven’t even really talked to me about the whole ‘new major’ thing. Three.” And here Scott’s voice softens. “Your mother just died five weeks ago and you had your first counseling session today. Not to mention that you were so shook up after that session that you let me drive Roscoe without even pretending to put up a fight.”

Stiles swallows and then takes a deep breath before slowly letting it out. “Okay, so, one, my plan of attack with Lydia was previously to actively avoid her for the rest of my life. But! since you ruined that plan when you reminded me that she was working today, and then refused to let me run away like the dirty coward that I am, you get to help me come up with a new plan,” Stiles pauses pointing at Scott then points his single finger straight up into the air before adding a second finger and letting his hand fall to the table. “Two… Shit, man, I haven’t really talked to _anybody_ about the whole new major thing. I mean, my dad knows about it, knows my reasoning, but I haven’t really talked to him about it. I haven’t even talked to my new advisor about it.”

Scott puts up a hand, swallows his bite, and interrupts, “You haven’t talked to your new advisor yet!?”

Stiles hastily swallows his bite and shakes his head, “No, no, well, I mean kinda? After I figured up my new schedule and graduation plan I went to his office, but he looked over my stuff and chuckled before asking me why I even bothered with stoping by his office. Like, I get that he was joking, and he has no idea what is going on in my life, but it was just too much to try to open up and talk to him about it after that. So, I just laughed with him and said I wanted to make sure I hadn’t missed anything before I got up and left.” Stiles just lets that statement hang in the air for a bit and takes the opportunity to wolf down some more of his Pistachio Dream before it all melts.

When he senses that Scott is scrambling for a reply, Stiles clears his throat and holds up three fingers. “And finally, three,” Stiles looks down at the table top and fiddles with his spoon before guiltily looking up at Scott and continuing, “my counseling session wasn’t really about my mom?” Stiles winces and holds up a hand to stop Scott from interrupting, “I know. I know. I told Dad, and let you assume, that it was about Mom, and; before you yell.”

Affronted Scott interrupts, “I don’t yell!”

Stiles just levels a look at Scott before continuing, “counseling is probably kinda gonna end up being about Mom starting next week anyways.”

Scott adopts a confused puppy expression before asking, “Why? Wait, why are you even doing counseling if you didn’t want to talk about your mom?”

Stiles looks up from where he was playing with the last bite of his waffle cone. “Huh? Oh, it’s a class requirement for Intro to Family Science that I attend at least four counseling sessions this semester.” After popping the final bite of waffle cone into his mouth Stiles eye’s Scott’s partially melted, mostly untouched, bowl of Pistachio Dream.

When Scott notices where Stiles’ eyes have fixed themselves, he takes one last bite of ice cream before sliding the bowl over to Stiles. “Man,” Scott laughs, “you really weren’t kidding about eating an entire pint today were you?”

Stiles shakes his head with his mouth full of Pistachio Dream then swallows before responding “nope” popping the ‘p.’ Scott watches on in a sick sort of awe as Stiles practically inhales the last of the ice cream.

Stiles takes a drink of water and wipes his mouth on the back of his hand. “So, anyway, the reason I was so out of it after my session is that Marin, my counselor, gave me an assignment for the week.” Stiles pauses and seemingly out of nowhere sighs shifting in his seat, “Lyds, I can feel you standing there behind me, and I know that you’ve probably heard most of the conversation, so just take a seat.” Lydia situates herself next to Stiles and then inclines her head to Stiles in a ‘continue’ manner. Stiles wrings his hands as he continues, “I have to find a ‘physical representation’ of my major change to bring to next week’s session.”

After a beat of silence Scott suggests, “What about a song Dude? You’re great at finding deep meanings hidden in lyrics.”

Before Stiles has a chance to respond Lydia shakes her head and looks from Scott to Stiles. “No,” she interjects, “Stiles already has something in mind. Don’t you?”

Stiles nods, “I’m just not entirely sure how to go about it…”

Lydia reaches over and takes Stiles hand that has been fiddling with his spoon. “You thought about using a program from Claudia’s funeral at first, didn’t you?” Lydia surmises with a gentle voice.

Stiles just stares at Lydia for a minute before physically shaking his shock off. “But, _how_ did you know? Lyds, _I don’t understand_. Before today, I hadn’t talked to you since last semester.”

Lydia heaves a sigh and rolls her eyes, “Really Stiles, I know that you are stressed and that you are an emotional wreck, as well you have every right to be. But, please, Stiles try to use your brain.” Another sigh, “Scott told me, of course.”

When Stiles and Lydia turn to Scott he looks slightly panicked. Stiles almost wants to take pity on him, but “Dude! You told Lydia! Why didn’t you tell me that you told Lydia?! I wouldn’t have had to avoid Anna’s if I had known that you told Lydia!”

Scott looks akin to a fish out of water as he gapes before clearing his throat and furtively looking to Lydia. “I, uh, I didn’t think you wanted her to know?” Scott’s voice raises slightly on the question.

Stiles can’t stand to see that cornered puppy look on Scott’s face so he leans over and claps Scott on the shoulder, “You did good buddy.” Stiles looks over to Lydia, “It isn’t that I didn’t want you to know. I even called you that day. I just, I didn’t know how to tell you after that moment, and I didn’t feel like leaving a voice mail.”

Lydia reaches over and pats him on the cheek, “I know. You just needed time, and I was giving it to you. I’ll text you when I get off at noon. If you still need help figuring out the right thing to take to your next session just let me know and I’ll be glad to help.” As she stands up Lydia leans over and kisses Stiles on the top of his head, nods to Scott, and, having received a wave in exchange, returns to her place behind the counter.

“Okay, so uh,” Scott starts after Lydia walks away “this is probably a stupid question, but why don’t you want to use a program from the funeral?”

Stiles takes a minute to gather his thoughts. Just as he is about to answer he notices Scott’s eyes dart over to the door. Stiles is prepared to shrug it off as Scott being Scott and feeling guilty about making him talk about the funeral and his mom so much when the bell chimes indicating that someone has either entered or left the shop.

Stiles, being the living breathing embodiment of curiosity that he is, turns to see who is at the door that could have possibly distracted Scott in the middle of such a serious conversation.

What Stiles sees is a tall man, maybe a year or two older than himself and Scott, with curly blond hair, a bright blue scarf, and a t-shirt sporting a logo that Stiles has been seeing off and on his entire life. When the curly haired stranger looks in his direction Stiles thinks that he has been caught staring before realizing that the look was directed at Scott.

The stranger walks over to their table and reaches across it for Scott’s hand. “Hey Scott,” Curly-Q greets, “good to see you.”

Scott stands up to give the man a one armed hug. “Good to see you too man! I like the new scarf, it really makes your eyes pop.” Scott says doing something complicated with his eyebrows.

Curly-Q gets as far as “Thanks! Kira actually gave it t-“ before Stiles clears his throat as obnoxiously as possible.

“Shit!” Scott exclaims, “I’m being so rude right now. Dude, this is Stiles. Stiles, this is Isaac.”

Isaac extends his hand to Stiles. “Stiles, nice to finally meet you. I’ve heard a lot about you.”

“Really,” Stiles drawls, “I’ve not heard anything about you, but you must be crazy if you’ve heard about me and are genuinely happy to meet me.”

“Ah, well, I’m both happy and slightly terrified to meet you. And, uh, most of what I’ve heard about you has been from Lydia, so it makes sense that you haven’t heard anything about me yet.”

At Isaac’s explanation Stiles decides that he needs to re-evaluate the man before him, and upon looking closer Stiles notices that Isaac has a stack of flyers in his hands. “What are those for?” Stiles asks indicating the stack in Isaac’s hands.

Isaac startles slightly before answering, “Huh, oh. I’ve been going around today putting these flyers up. My bosses are trying to recruit some new staff and volunteers from Beacon University so I volunteered to put them up in all of the hot spots I’ve heard fellow students talking about.”

“Where do you work?” Stiles asks, a note of almost hopeful urgency in his voice.

Isaac hands Stiles a flyer before indicating the logo on his shirt, “I work overnights at The Beacon, well the real name is The Beacon Hills Children’s Shelter, but everyone just calls it The Beacon.”

“Hey Stiles,” Scott points to the flyer Stiles is holding, “isn’t that that place that your mom used to volunteer at all the time?”

“Yeah, yeah, it was Scotty. Hey, uh, Isaac, do you mind if I keep this flyer?” Stiles shakes the flyer in his hand.

“Not at all,” Isaac replies. "In fact, you should look it over. I think you’d be a good fit. I know The Beacon would love to have a Stilinski around now and again. Your mom was a legend. The kids all loved her, we all loved her… Anyway, I’ve got a study group that I have to get to so I’d better hang some flyers and head out. Scott, see you later. Stiles, I’d love to see you at The Beacon some time. Have a good day.” Isaac waves as he heads over to the cork board over by the bathrooms.

“You know Scotty, sometimes I forget that you know people in this town that I don’t know.” Stiles shakes his head at himself.

“Well,” Scott laughs, “I did grow up here after all. If we were in LA you would know people that I don’t know.”

Stiles raises his eyebrows at that. “Not as many as you know here, but fair point. You have lived in Beacon Hills much longer than I have. I just forget with all the summer visits and Dad being Sheriff now. Most everyone in this town seems to at least know of me if they don’t actually know me.”

“ _That_ , is because you are impossible to forget Stiles, and we don’t get much interesting in the spotlight in this town.”

Stiles looks up to find Lydia standing next to him once again. “Is it noon already?”

“It was five minutes ago. I didn’t figure you two would stick around so long, but I suppose I should have known better. Anyway, I see you met Isaac,” Lydia says as she points to the flyer that Stiles is still holding like something precious.

Distracted, Stiles replies, “Huh, oh, yeah, Isaac, seems like a nice guy.”

“Wait!” Scott interrupts, “Did you just say that it’s 12:05?”

When Lydia nods at him Scott shoots up from his seat, “I have a date with Kira in twenty minutes! I gotta go!” and with that Scott takes off running out of the door.

Stiles just stares after Scott before saying “He rode here with me… Maybe he’s meeting her somewhere close, whatever.”

Stiles doesn’t even realize that he has just been staring at the flyer in his hand until Lydia gently taps it. “So, this it huh?”

“This is what?” Stiles asks.

“This flyer. This is your physical representation of your decision to change your major, isn’t it?”

Stiles looks into Lydia’s eyes and asks, “Are you sure you’re not my soulmate?” He laughs, “Lyds, I swear, sometimes you know me better than I know myself. Yes. This flyer is my physical representation of my decision to change my major. The funeral program wasn’t right because I didn’t change my major because my mom died. I changed my major because my mom _lived_. This flyer represents so much of who my mother was, and who I want to be for her.”

“Good,” Lydia stands up and looks at Stiles expectantly, “I’ve been working all morning, and I’m starving. _You_ , are buying me lunch and we are going to make up for lost time and get you all caught up on the current science department gossip.”

If Stiles wants to live he really sees no other option than to do as Lydia says, and he has really, really, _really_ missed her so his only reply is, “Are you driving, or am I?”

Lydia can be heard saying “ _I_ am” in a tone of voice that translates to ‘don’t be an idiot’ as they walk out of Anna’s.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks so much for reading! I hope you're enjoying it so far. If you guys see something that you think I should add to the tags please let me know.
> 
> Again, I'm on tumblr here: http://kiti-the-warrior-poet.tumblr.com/


	3. Sunday Lunch

By the time Stiles makes it back to his dorm it’s 8am and he doesn’t have the strength or coordination to climb into his loft bed, so he opts to pull his pillow down before face planting onto the futon. Stiles contemplates getting up to pull his blanket down or at least pulling his shoes and pants off so he’ll be more comfortable, but the world fades to black before he can act on either of those thoughts.

A violent shaking snaps Stiles back to consciousness causing his arms to flail in an attempt to cover his eyes to the blinding light streaming in through the window. As his brain slowly reboots noises start to filter in, noises that sound suspiciously like Scott’s voice. “-iles, _Stiles_! Dude, wake up! Your dad is outside. He says you missed Sunday Lunch. He’s called me like five times. I think he’s pretty pissed now that he knows that you’re not dead.”

Stiles scrubs his hands down his face, stretches, and then yawn-asks “Dude, what time is it?”

Scott shoves his phone in Stiles’ face and shouts “It’s 3 in the afternoon!”

“Shit! I was supposed to meet Dad for lunch. He must be freaking out. Wait. Why didn’t he just call me?” Stiles digs his phone out of his pocket and discovers that his battery is 100% dead. “Damn it, I forgot to put it on the charger when I got in this morning.”

“Stiles, did you miss the part where I told you that your dad is outside waiting for you?” Scott ends with a pointed look that easily translates to ‘you should probably get moving if you want to live.’

“Right. Dad is outside, ready to murder me for making him think that I had been murdered.” As Stiles stands up to head to the door he catches a whiff of himself and takes in Scott’s scrunched nose. “God, I smell awful. Can you go let my dad in and tell him that I’m jumping in the shower real quick?” When Scott nods in agreement Stiles slaps him on the shoulder, “you’re the best buddy.”

Stiles gathers his things and gets in the shower while Scott heads out to let Stiles’ dad into their dorm room.

**~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~**

When Stiles gets done with his shower he sees that Scott is gone again and his father is sitting on the futon watching something on the tv. Stiles tries for nonchalance with, “Yo, Pops, whatcha watching?” But he drops the act when he sees the look on his father’s face.

Stiles deposits his dirty clothes and his towel in the hamper that he keeps in his closet before plopping down next to his dad on the futon. After a few moments of silence during which John’s eyes stay firmly focused on the television screen in front of him Stiles tries again. “I’m sorry dad… I didn’t mean to worry you.”

John looks over at his son at that, “I’m always worried about you Son. I’m your dad, it’s part of the job kiddo, but you really scared me Stiles. You’re usually not late when it comes to free food, and you always at least text me if you don’t answer your phone. Then to top it all off Scott said you weren’t even answering _his_ calls.”

“Heh,” Stiles huffs, “I can see how that would be terrifying. And I really am sorry. I went to lunch with Lydia yesterday and we ended up talking a lot of stuff over and just getting caught up on each others lives. We were out all night and my phone died. It was 8am by the time I made it back here. I grabbed my pillow and passed out on the futon. I totally meant to plug my phone in to charge, but once my head hit my pillow I was dead to the world. Honestly, if Scott hadn’t woke me up when he did I would probably still be asleep.”

“And _Jackson_ was okay with you spending all night with his girlfriend?” John asks with raised eyebrows.

“ _Dad_. I’ve told you. Jackson is not the same Jackson from the slumber parties and stories of old; he’s changed. Scott even accidentally called him his friend the other day, and Jackson lit up like it was freaking Christmas morning. Jackson is a good guy, and when he falls into old habits Lydia reminds him that ‘Old Jackson’ wasn’t worth her time. As a matter of fact, Jackson joined us for dinner and spent the rest of the night with us. He and Lydia actually dropped me off here on their way to breakfast. I don’t know how they were still able to function at that point. It isn’t normal being able to function on so little sleep like some sort of freaking supernatural beings or something.”

“OKAY,” John exclaims as he stands up from the futon, “I know an oncoming ramble when I see one, and I for one am too hungry to deal with that particular trip down the rabbit hole at this time. Let’s go to Gina’s. I deserve a Hungry Like a Wolf Burger after what you’ve put me through today.”

“Fine,” Stiles agrees as he gets up to follow John, “but you’re only allowed to get a Pup Burger and you’re getting Rabbit Food as your side.”

“Fine,” John mimics, “but I’m allowed both cheeses, I get to eat _all three_ strips of my bacon, _and_ I’m allowed to get ranch to dip my carrots and celery in.”

Stiles narrows his eyes at his father before responding, “You drive a hard bargain Old Man… but I suppose I can live with it. I’m getting a Beta Burger with an order of Rabbit Food, for solidarity, and an order of Shoestring Potatoes, because I love myself.”

John and Stiles pass Scott on their way to the parking lot and Stiles invites Scott to join them. Scott says “Thanks for the invite man, but I already had lunch and I’ve got dinner plans tonight with Isaac and some other friends.”

“Oh, right, it’s the full moon tonight,” Stiles makes a jazz hands motion. “I forgot that you joined that weird club in high school where you all get together on the full moons and go LARPing in the woods all night.”

Scott winces, “I’m sorry that it makes you feel left out. You were my only friend in high school before I joined The Pack and you didn’t even live here. Besides, I’ve told you before, I would totally invite you to join us”

Stiles cuts Scott off “But the all mysterious leader of your little gang has to extend the invite himself, and he only invites people that he trusts. The only problem with that is that he only trusts people that he knows and you refuse to introduce us.”

“Stiles, I” Scott starts, but Stiles just holds up a hand and shakes his head.

“Have fun tonight Scott. I’ll see you at lunch tomorrow.” And with that Stiles heads straight for his dad’s cruiser and throws himself into the passenger seat.

A few minutes later John joins Stiles inside the cruiser. “You know son, you have friends that aren’t Scott. He’s allowed to have friends that aren’t you too.”

Stiles just stares out of his window until John gives up and puts the car in gear. As they pull out of the parking lot Stiles sighs and says, “Dad, you don’t get it. Scott isn’t my only friend that is part of _The Pack_. Lydia and Jackson are part of it too. At first I thought it was only for people who are from Beacon Hills, you know, kinda like a way to be all like ‘we’re proud of growing up here’ or something. It’s weird, but it would explain why I haven’t been invited to join. But then, Kira started going with them around midterms last semester. Kira is from New York! She isn’t even from this side of the country, at least I was born in California. Not to mention that Mom was from Beacon Hills… It just hurts, you know, because there is obviously something about me that everyone thinks the president of their club or whatever won’t like.”

John winces in sympathy as he puts the cruiser in park. Stiles doesn’t even notice that they’ve arrived at Gina’s Greasy Spoon until his father’s hand on his shoulder makes him look over. Stiles, taken aback by exactly how old John looks in this moment makes the decision to enjoy the rest of the weekend, if not for his own sake then for his father’s.

“Well,” Stiles claps his hands and rubs them together, “I don’t know about you, but I’d say that I’m about as Hungry as a Wolf. So hungry, in fact, that I might even try to conquer the Alpha Burger today!”

Stiles jumps out of the cruiser and races to the door. John shakes his head and follows Stiles in. When he catches up to his son he pokes him in the ribs and says “Do it. I get to eat whatever part of the burger you can’t finish.”

“Nope,” Stiles pops the ‘p.’ “I changed my mind, I’m gonna stick with the Beta Burger. That way I can get a Reese’s shake too.”

“If you say so kid,” John says as he steps around Stiles to lead him to their usual bar stools at the counter.

Gina herself is working today and she takes their order with a smile before leaving them to their conversation. Once the food arrives the conversation dwindles down in preference to eating the delicious burgers while they are still warm and the cheese is all melty. As the piles of food on their plates shrink the conversation picks back up and both men make sure to keep to lighter topics such as sports and the weather.

When John finishes his last bite as Stiles is slurping up the last of his shake, John wipes his mouth before turning to Stiles. “You know, I actually have tonight off, and it’s been almost a whole week since you’ve been home to do your laundry. How about when I take you back to the dorms you go in and grab your laundry and any homework you have, and then come back to the house with me? We could watch a movie or something. I’ll even let you feed me salad for dinner tonight.”

A genuine smile spreads across Stiles’ face, “that sounds great Dad.”

**~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~**

When Stiles pulls the Jeep into the driveway behind his dad’s cruiser his dad is waiting to help him carry his laundry into the house. By the time that Stiles has gathered all of his books and his laptop and made it inside he can hear the sounds of John starting a load of laundry.

“I could have done that myself!” Stiles calls out from the entry way.

“I know,” John responds walking out of the kitchen with a beer in one hand and a Coke in the other. “I just felt like being nice, and I threw in some of my stuff with yours.”

Stiles gladly takes the Coke when it’s offered and uses it to indicate the living room. “Wanna watch a movie or a show? I’ve got a bit of research to do, but you know I work better when I have something in the background to distract me.”

“Well, if you just need background noise right now then I’m gonna finish my show that I started earlier.”

“Sounds good to me,” Stiles replies as he pulls out books and sets his laptop up. When Stiles has his workspace ready he looks over to John. “Hey, uh, Dad. Maybe we should talk for a minute before you start your show.”

John sets down the remote and turns his full attention on Stiles. “What’s wrong Son?”

“Nothing!” Stiles rushes to measure, “n-no, nothing is wrong. I just thought maybe we should talk about my counseling session?” Stiles doesn’t mean for it to be a question, but that is how it comes out.

“Right. You had your first session yesterday morning didn’t you?”

“Yeah. It went really well, at least, I think it did. Marin, my counselor, had me tell her about how I met Scott, and that took up most of our time.”

“I’ll bet it did. I’m sure that she’ll learn fast that you only ask for a Scott and Stiles Story when you want to kill at least half an hour,” John chuckles to himself.

“Hey!” Stiles throws one of the throw pillows at his father’s head. “Very funny Dad. At any rate, Marin told me that she thinks that I’ll do well in my new program. She also said that she’ll be giving me weekly assignments to work on between sessions. The assignment for this week is actually what I wanted to talk to you about.”

When Stiles pauses John makes a ‘go on’ gesture with his hand.

“Okay, so um, Marin asked me to find and bring back a physical representation of my decision to change majors.”

Stiles pulls a folder out of his backpack and then pulls a flyer out of the folder and hands it to John.

John finds himself fighting tears as he looks the flyer over. He hands it back to Stiles and clears his throat. “I knew that it was for her. Claudia was so proud of you Melchior. **_I_** am _so_ proud of you.”

Stiles attempts to subtly wipe the tears from his eyes as he forces his voice to corporate, “I know.”

After a moment of silence to get voices and tear ducts back in control John points to the flyer. “You should do it.”

“Huh, oh yeah, I’ve already started the volunteer application.”

“No,” John shakes his head. “You should work there. Claudia worked there when she was your age. She would have worked there again when we moved here, if she hadn’t been so sick. I don’t know if she ever told you this, but your mother was the first teenaged resident they ever had at The Beacon Hills Children’s Shelter.”

“Mom lived at The Beacon? I didn’t know that. I mean I knew that she met Melissa in a foster home, but I didn’t realize that she ever lived at the shelter.”

“She actually stayed there twice,” John confirms. “She went to the shelter right after the accident before she went to live with the Delgado family, and she ended up back at The Beacon after Mrs. Delgado got sick.”

“And you said that Mom worked at The Beacon too?”

“Yep. Your mom went to college in LA.”

“Which is were she met you,” Stiles interrupts.

“Yes,” John continues, “but she didn’t move to LA full-time until we got married after she graduated. While she was in college Claudia came back to Beacon Hills during her school breaks and she worked at the shelter while she was in town.”

“Huh, maybe I will apply to be an employee and not just a volunteer.”

With that thought in mind Stiles turns to his laptop to work on his research. When John realizes that Stiles is focused on his school work he picks the remote back up and continues turning his show back on. When the episode ends Stiles decides that he has done enough research for the evening and starts packing his school stuff back into his bag. When he’s done with that Stiles stands and stretches his arms above his head, popping his back, before heading to the kitchen to switch laundry and then start on dinner.

Dinner is a simple salad with grilled chicken eaten in the living room while watching whatever movie was next in the Hulu queue. When the dishes and laundry are done Stiles loads up the Jeep and then decides to stay at the house for the night. John has the morning shift and they’ll need to leave the house around the same time in the morning, and it’s been too long since the last time Stiles got to have breakfast with his dad.

When Stiles fills his dad in on his thinking John agrees and bids Stiles goodnight with a, “see you in the morning Son.”

“See you in the morning Dad,” Stiles replies before heading to bed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not sure when I'll be able to update again. Real life is kinda crazy right now, but I'll update as soon as I can.
> 
> Again, thanks for reading!

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading! If you have tips (or would like to beta for me!) or if you just want to chat you can find me on tumblr http://kiti-the-warrior-poet.tumblr.com/
> 
> Please let me know if you have enjoyed this and want to read more of A Life of Shelter.
> 
> ~Also, there is a chance that this work will be added to a series called A Life of Shelter, if that happens the title of this work will likely be changed to Back to the Beginning (To Begin Again).~


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